Laurel Goodwin Movies
Laurel Goodwin started working as a child model at the age of seven and decided in her teens to move into acting as a profession. She was born in Wichita, KS, but moved to San Francisco, CA, where she attended Lowell High School and San Francisco State University as a drama major. In the summer of her freshman year, her teacher advised her to do summer stock work in Shasta, CA, and in her spare time she ended up baby-sitting for the children of cinematographer Kurt Gunther; in return, he took some stills of her and passed them to the publicity department at Paramount, where he was working. She was invited to audition and became a contract player in 1962. Goodwin was noticed by producer Hal Wallis and cast in the Elvis Presley vehicle Girls! Girls! Girls! as the "nice girl" vying for the rock 'n' roll king's heart, in competition with female lead Stella Stevens. Goodwin received good notices for her debut and other film roles followed; in Papa's Delicate Condition she was Jackie Gleason's older daughter and in the A.C. Lyles-produced Stage To Thunder Rock she played alongside such veteran actors as Barry Sullivan, John Agar, and Lon Chaney Jr. Goodwin's third and last feature film was the Sam Peckinpah-authored, Arnold Laven-directed Western The Glory Guys, where she had the chance to make the acqaintance of a promising young actor in the cast named James Caan. By this time in the mid-'60s, however, film production was slowing to a relative trickle and there wasn't too much demand for actresses of Goodwin's type. Her subsequent career was confined to television, where she played a multitude of roles, ranging from ingenue parts to voluptuous hippie-chicks, in episodes of The Virginian, Mannix, Get Smart, and The Beverly Hillbillies, through the end of the 1960s. If she has any screen immortality beyond the Elvis Presley movie, however, it is from her work in "The Cage", the original pilot episode for Star Trek, starring Jeffrey Hunter and Susan Oliver, in which Goodwin played Yeoman Colt. Later recut into the two-part episode "The Menagerie" and then restored to circulation intact, "The Cage ended up one of the most renowned touchstones of 1960s science fiction. After losing the lead in Gidget because she was too tall, Goodwin gradually eased out of performing, apart from commercials. Since the 1970s, she has been married to film executive William Wood, and together the two have been involved in the making of several feature films, including Stroker Ace.~ Bruce Eder, Rovi
- 1967
Hit with an enormous inheritance tax, Jed decides to close down Clampett Castle in England and return to America. But Jethro has not yet divested himself of the British influence, and before long, he is roaming around LA's Griffith Park dressed as Robin Hood, determined to rob from the rich and give to the poor in the company of his "Merrie Men," Elly May, and Bessie the Chimp. The fun really begins with Jethro "captures" a pair of hippies named Buddy (Alan Reed Jr.) and Stella (Laurel Goodwin). Originally telecast on September 27, 1967, "Robin Hood of Griffith Park" was the conclusion of a four-part story arc, and the beginning of a new two-part comic adventure. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1967
Still determined to become the Robin Hood of Beverly Hills, Jethro has recruited a whole slew of new "Merrie Men," actually a band of hippies who are attracted to the Clampett millions. When Jethro renews his vow to rob from the rich and give to the poor, the hippies suggest that banker Drysdale would be an ideal "rich" candidate. Alan Reed Jr., who portrayed beatnik artist Sheldon Epps during the series' second season, is here cast as hippie leader Buddy, while veteran movie heavy Victor French is seen as Tony. The conclusion of a two-episode story arc, "Robin Hood and the Sheriff" first aired on October 4, 1967. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1966
The starship Enterprise is diverted to Star Base 11 by a message supposedly sent by the ship's former commander, Fleet Captain Christopher Pike, and received by the ship's first officer, Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy). Upon arriving, however, Captain Kirk (William Shatner) discovers that Pike has been paralyzed by injuries from a space disaster and could not have sent the message, or even asked to have had one sent. Kirk tries to unravel the mystery, unwilling to believe that Spock could lie, but also troubled by Spock's longstanding loyalty to his former captain. Spock then kidnaps Pike and commandeers the Enterprise, locking the ship on a course for Talos IV, a mysterious planet that is off-limits -- on penalty of death -- to any Star Fleet vessel. Adding to the mystery is the fact that the only Earth ship ever to visit Talos IV was the Enterprise, under Pike's command with Spock as science officer, 13 years earlier. Kirk boards the Enterprise in the company of Commodore Mendez (Malachi Throne), but is unable to divert the ship's course. Spock insists upon a formal court martial for mutiny, during which he begins presenting a visual account of the Enterprise's first visit to Talos IV. The trial board sees how the ship was baited to the planet and Pike was kidnapped, taken below the surface by the inhabitants, who have the power to cast perfect illusions. An emergency signal interrupts the trial, as Star Fleet notifies Mendez that the Enterprise has been receiving images from Talos IV in violation of regulations. Kirk is relieved of his command, Mendez is ordered to do anything necessary to prevent the ship from reaching Talos IV, and Spock now faces a death sentence. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi
- 1966
Spock faces the death penalty for receiving signals from planet Talos IV. With the agreement of Captain Kirk (William Shatner) and Fleet Captain Pike, the trial continues in closed session and the evidence -- the forbidden transmissions -- continues to be viewed by the trial board, as Kirk searches for a reason behind Spock's actions and a way to save his friend's life. They see Captain Pike (Jeffrey Hunter) and his strange adventure on Talos IV some 13 years earlier, and the manner in which the Talosians, with their power to cast illusions, tried alternately to torture and seduce him to secure his cooperation, and his successful resistance to the point where he was ultimately released. They also learn why any contact with planet Talos IV is forbidden, the danger that contact poses to the human race, and why that contact may mean the salvation of the stricken Captain Pike. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi
- 1965
Though written by Sam Peckinpah (he adapted the film from a novel by Hoffman Birney), the direction of The Glory Guys was entrusted to the competent but perfunctory Arnold Laven. Cavalry captain Demas Harrod (Tom Tryon) and his faithful scout Sol Rogers (Harve Presnell) are placed under the command of xenophobic general Frederick McCabe (Andrew Duggan), who hates Indians almost as much as his own men hate him. When not preparing to decimate every Native American in their path, Harrod and Rogers carry on a rivalry over the hand of pretty Lou (Senta Berger; another authentic Wild West type). The novelty of the film is that the Indians, rather than the cavalry, win the final battle. Despite a few bursts of cinematic creativity from Laven in the climactic scenes, it still would have been more interesting to see how Sam Peckinpah would have handled The Glory Guys. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Tom Tryon, Harve Presnell, (more)
- 1964
In this western adventure, a sheriff prepares to retire and finds himself forced to deal with his past when he is assigned to round up a gang of outlaws comprised of the sons of the man who raised him after his own parents were killed. The sheriff has to kill one of the desperadoes. The other he will transport to jail on the stage coach. He ends up waiting at the station owned by the parents of his ex-lover. The hapless lawman is watched over by a hired gun who is to make sure the sheriff does indeed deliver the criminal. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Barry Sullivan, Marilyn Maxwell, (more)
This charming tale is about a young girl's father and his slightly erratic behavior after sampling a refreshing alcoholic beverage. Although Papa Jack Griffith (Jackie Gleason) never appears to be drunk, his "delicate condition" is well known to his family. His wife is definitely unhappy over his penchant but loves him just the same. He is adored by his youngest daughter, six year old Corinne (Linda Bruhl). When he tries to buy a pony for Corinne, he not only gets the pony but the entire broken down, debt ridden circus as well. This is too much for wife Ambolyn (Glynis Johns), who packs up the kids and heads for her father's house in Texarkana. Jack follows with the entire circus in pursuit to take his loving family back home. He also hoodwinks some local investors to put money into a proposed drug store, thereby circumventing a blue law that forbids the sale of alcohol. Gleason's performance contain many fine moments that run the full spectrum of human emotions and clearly illustrates why he has deservedly been referred to as "The Great One." ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jackie Gleason, Glynis Johns, (more)
One of Elvis Presley's biggest moneymakers, Girls Girls Girls casts ol' swivel-hips as a tuna-boat fisherman working out of Hawaii. Elvis chases after all the wrong girls, while ignoring the girls who genuinely care for him. Here, as Ross Carpenter, Presley has two main love interests: sexy vocalist Robin (Stella Stevens and heiress Laurel (Laurel Goodwin), who pretends to be poor so as not to wound Ross's pride. When rude 'n' crude Wesley Johnson (Jeremy Slate), who owns Ross's boat, makes a play for Laurel, Ross punches him out. He loses his boat, but it hardly matters since he and Laurel have found true love. Songs crucial to the action are the title tune, "Return to Sender," and "Song of the Shrimp." ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Elvis Presley, Stella Stevens, (more)
